International Rules Debate
by Brian Murphy, 06 February 2008
GAA President Nickey Brennan and Derry legend Anthony Tohill jetted out to Dubai on Tuesday morning to meet AFL officials with the express intention of reviving the International Rules Series.
Debate: Should the International Rules Series be revived?
Having gauged Brennan's body language at several press conferences over the last few months, it is clear that he has grave reservations about bringing the ailing competition back to life. But his opinion seems to have been swayed after fruitful talks with AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou in Paris last autumn.
Speaking at his inaugural press conference in Croke Park on Tuesday, the new Director General of the GAA, Paraic Duffy, said he was optimistic about the chances of a 2008 series taking place. However, he reiterated the belief that has been emanating from Croke Park for months: that the violent scenes that made for such discomfiting viewing in 2006 can never be repeated.
The ugly mess that the second Test descended into in 2006 received widespread condemnation in Ireland, but this criticism was interpreted as sour grapes by the Aussies. The men from Down Under are a macho bunch and that attitude is manifest in the way they play the game. They are rough, tough men who are willing to bend the rules to get one over their opponents in what is the effectively the only chance they will ever get to represent their country.
We at setantasports.com have compiled a list of arguments for and against the revival of the oval ball code. Please leave a comment at the bottom of the page to register you support or disapproval of the International Rules Series.
For - Exposure: The GAA will always struggle to gain exposure to an international audience because it is essentially confined to the 32 counties and pockets of ex-pats guarding the flame in Europe and the U.S. The International Rules Series provides an ideal platform for the GAA to export what many believe to be Ireland's hidden little gem to a worldwide audience.
Against – Violence: There is nothing like a good old-fashioned dust-up to get the blood racing at a match on occasion. There is nothing more disturbing than seeing an amateur player carted off to hospital in an ambulance after receiving the kind of treatment that would be treated as common assault in a court of law. The series has no future unless the issue of discipline is addressed.
For – International recognition: The International Rules Series is the only chance both GAA and AFL players will ever get to represent their countries. Pulling on green shirt is said to be the pinnacle of any sportsman's career, but is it worth it when the games so often descend into violence? The GAA both suffers from and thrives on its parochialism but the opportunity to represent your country is seen by many as the natural progression in a career that in GAA would reach its apogee at inter-county level without the hybrid game.
Against – Talent Drain: Does the series serve only to put our best young players in the shop window for wealthy AFL clubs to dangle the carrot of professionalism in front of them? It certainly seems so. The drain of talent has increase in recent months with Michael Shields, Kevin Dyas, Pierce Hanley, Zac Tuohy (next year) etc all succumbing to the lure of the oval ball game. The underage series has been scrapped and more stringent poaching regulations have been implemented, but it's not just youngsters who are leaving. The flow needs to be checked and the abandonment of the series would appear to be the only way of achieving that.
For – Financial gain: There is no denying that the series is a money-spinner for the GAA. There is an appetite for the game among fans as demonstrated by the increasing attendances at matches over the last few years. It's an opportunity to fill out Croke Park at the end of the season and the television rights for the games are sizable when you factor in the demand Down Under too. But is it right to jeopardise the wellbeing of the GAA's most prized assets – the players – for financial gain?
Against – Burnout: After the report of the Task Force on Player Burnout was backed so vociferously by GAA chiefs, is it right to ask players to tag an extra month on to the end of an already taxing inter-county season? The evidence provided by medical experts at Congress in January was a damning indictment of the demands placed on players in the modern era. Why, in that case would we ask elite players to train for and play some of the most physically demanding games they will ever encounter after all the efforts to impose winter breaks and a tighter schedule?
Opinion: Here is my tuppence worth!
There is no doubt that this is a divisive issue. However, I believe that it is wrong to place amateur players on a field against professional who train every day of the week. The Australian players are naturally bigger and have been on weights programmes for years. It adds up to an unfair fight. The Irish players, should they get injured, still have to go to work on a Monday morning and do not have the support the Australian players have under a professional club.
Essentially, I believe that the hybrid game serves no real purpose. It is a mash-up of two very different games with no clear guidelines or rules. Should the IRFU and the NFL enter talks to set up a hybrid American Football/Rugby game just because there are similarities and historical ties between the two sports?
The refereeing issue has never been addressed properly either, and the idea of bringing in rugby officials could work, but the interpretation of the rules - wooly as they are – can be very different depending on where the referee is from.
We will find out in the next week if this curious game will be revived. Please leave your thoughts and comments on the matter at the bottom of the page.